The Laws of Gravity
by threadfinjack
Summary: Katniss Everdeen was a nationally-ranked gymnast before she walked out on her team. Years later, a run-in with the law sends her packing on a court-mandated trip to her own personal Hell: Haymitch Abernathy's Gymnastics Academy. Peeta Mellark is a collegiate hockey player recovering from an injury at AGA who catches her eye. Katniss is in for a long fifteen weeks. Stick It! AU.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **I don't claim ownership of any characters or ideas created by Suzanne Collins in The Hunger Games trilogies, nor do I claim to be responsible for the original plot points, any original dialogue or ideas taken from The Hunger Games and the movie Stick It! I had this craving for a story about Katniss in the world of gymnastics and Peeta as a hockey player, and I couldn't help but try to come up with an original story about their relationship unfolding in this scenario. I want to specifically add that **Melting The Ice by tacosandflowers** first made me fall in love with the idea of Peeta as a hockey player. It's lovely, and I recommend you read that fic as it updates! Please enjoy and review, I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

* * *

If there was one thing Katniss was sure of, it was the forest. It always sang to her in the summertime, especially on hot mornings like this one when the sky was clear and blue. A forest teeming with the sound of wildlife meant total privacy, and she was glad. Her plans for the day required a little isolation — and what better place to find it than on an abandoned piece of land in the middle of the woods?

Katniss ducked under a chain-link fence that was covered with weeds and twisted to reach into her backpack. She shoved her hand inside it without taking her eyes off the ground, even though her position made her pace a little awkward, and ran through her mental checklist again. Extra clothes. Towel. Waterproof watch. Reusable water bottle. Car keys — nowhere to be found. Katniss sighed and slowed her pace. She could already hear engines running, as well as two eager voices shouting for her to hurry up, but she knelt and dug around in the backpack's other pockets.

"Of course," Katniss huffed, pulling her keys out of a tiny pocket on the side of the bag. Prim always put them in a secure spot after borrowing the family car. Little Prim, who wasn't so little anymore since she was in high school, who still made sure to inspect each tire before getting into the car and buckling her seatbelt. Katniss hated letting her drive the car — she wanted to tape a warning sign on the bumper so people would drove more cautiously when Prim was on the road. Not that anyone would ever dream of hurting the youngest Everdeen in the first place.

The sound of revving engines pricked at Katniss' ears and pulled her into a standing position, and she continued up the hill, following the freshly printed tread marks on the ground beneath her feet.

"I'm almost up, calm down!"

Two all-terrain vehicles were waiting for her up in The Meadow. It wasn't an actual meadow so much as a sad pile of dirt and pine needles, but Thom thought the name was funny and so it stuck. At least, it made for a good story when his parents asked where he was taking their four-wheeler on the weekends. Katniss made her way over to Gale's four-wheeler, which was the cleaner of the two, and slid in front of him onto the seat. She pulled his spare helmet over her head and settled in.

"You ready, Catnip?" He asked, bracing the pedals with his large feet and tightening his gloves. She nodded, pulling the straps of her backpack down and gripping the front of her seat. "You two ready?" Thom had Bristel on the seat behind him, already wearing her helmet and holding on to his waist. The forest went silent as rocks started shifting underneath Gale's tires and the four-wheelers took off crashing through the trees.

The rules of physics are simple: stay balanced and don't let your center of gravity tip too far, or else you'll go flying through the air and end up crashing into the ground. Gale and Thom have rules, too: first one to slow their vehicle down loses. The first person to get forcefully ejected from their vehicle also loses, but in a different way. Gale and Thom were more than willing to test their luck, especially on a warm summer day like this one when a pair of girls was watching their every move.

Katniss could hear Bristel shrieking ahead of them, yelling for Thom to slow down. Thom was obviously a more experienced four-wheeler than Gale, and he was clearly swerving through trees on purpose. Katniss grinned, pushing up in her seat so she could see the hills ahead. Gale was taking them closer and closer to the edge of the woods, where the road cut momentarily through the trees in a way that made their game particularly dangerous. For one thing, it was easy to spot a couple of kids trespassing on private land from the nearby overpass. For another, they could just as easily crash into the middle of the road and be killed.

"Don't you think you're pushing it a little close?" Katniss yelled in Gale's ear. His hair tickled the edge of her nose. "We should at least turn around."

"Can't do it, Catnip, I bet money on this! We're already behind!" He called back, pushing the throttle forward. Thom and Bristel were up ahead, both yelling something unintelligible. Gale drove up and over one final rocky hill and spit out a loud curse. An empty, beat-up old pickup truck sat just yards from the road, right at the edge of the tree line. Someone was hunting, and they were right in Gale's path.

Thom and Bristel had apparently slowed down in time to veer off to the side of the truck, but Gale was speeding up. He tried to force the vehicle into a hard left turn, but his wheel snagged on an exposed tree root. Katniss could feel the wheels of the vehicle lifting off the ground, and her survival instincts kicked in. She tucked her limbs and head toward her body and snapped her eyes shut as the ground rushed up to meet her. Gale's all-terrain vehicle crashed into the side of the truck with a thunderous, cannon-like boom and continued to ring.

Katniss slowly realized those were her ears that were ringing. She rolled onto her side and groaned as sirens began to wail in the distance. Small rocks were pressing painfully into the side of her face, and the underside of her hands were severely scraped, but she pushed up off the ground anyway and broke into a run. Bristel and Thom were nowhere to be seen and Gale was a good three hundred yards ahead of her already. The truck's alarm was going off and the sirens, not nearly so distant as before, joined it to create more noise. Katniss slowed her run down to a jog as blue and red lights colored the leaves on the trees around her and readjusted the backpack on her shoulders. This wasn't the song she'd had in mind when she'd come into the woods.

* * *

"All together, she's accumulated about fifteen grand in property damages, not counting the trespassing charge."

"Thank you, bailiff." The court judge looked to be a younger man, maybe in his mid-forties. He parted his hair in a severe line and sat with unbelievable stillness as he looked down at Katniss in her seat. She sighed and kept her eyes on the ceiling, ignoring him and her mother behind her. "Katniss, I don't think anyone wants to see you sent off to jail for something like this. You're clearly a bright girl, and close to graduation. Lucky for you, the odds are in your favor." Katniss let her eyes drift down, focusing on the judge's ridiculous middle part. Was she really getting off with a warning? "The court is willing to grant you an alternative — you may volunteer to spend the next several weeks at an athletic training and wellness facility. Are you familiar with Haymitch Abernathy's Gymnastics Academy?"

Katniss' eyes shot to his. "You call that lucky? Are you kidding me?" she cried sharply.

Her judge sat back in his chair and shrugged calmly. "It's that, or time in a correctional facility, which will be marked permanently on your record. It's your choice, Miss Everdeen."

Katniss let her eyes go steely and threw several mental daggers at him. She couldn't afford to go to jail, not when her university scholarship required a clean record. They both knew she had no real choice in the matter. Judge Crane smacked his gavel against his block.

"Fifteen weeks at AGA it is. Thank you, Miss Everdeen. Court dismissed."

The ride home was short and quiet. Katniss leaned her forehead against the car window and absentmindedly stroked the scratches on her palms. A full week had passed, but the physical evidence of her criminal activity still lingered all over her. She could feel Prim's eyes watching her nervously and shifted, even though it made the seatbelt dig into her neck.

"It's a long drive to Houston," Mrs. Everdeen said suddenly. They were parked in the driveway and her mother lingered in the driver's seat, looking at Katniss through the rear view mirror. She sounded unsure, as if she was asking a question. Katniss hadn't offered more than a handful of words to her mother since the police escorted her home last weekend, so she probably was. Her mother always had such appropriate timing. She and Gale and Thom and Bristel had been so careless, and she deserved to be screamed at now, not looked after. Not worried about. Certainly not pitied.

"I'll be fine," she replied roughly, yanking the car door open and rushing inside before Prim could ask her what was wrong. Heaven help her if they heard the quaking in her voice; it certainly wouldn't help anyone. She went inside to pack her things and sat on her bed after she finished, staring at the door.

"Come on in, I know you're waiting in the hall," Katniss called with an empty chuckle. Prim shuffled into the room with a sheepish grin on her face and an anxious look in her eyes. "Hey, come here," she said, reaching for Prim's hand and tugging her closer. "Remember what I said outside in the car? You don't have to worry about me."

"I know." Katniss gathered her into a loose hug and ran her fingers through Prim's wispy blonde hair. "I'm gonna miss you."

"And I'll miss you just as much," Katniss replied before pulling away. The longer she stalled, the harder it would be to leave. "But it's only a couple of weeks."

"Fifteen," Prim replied softly. "What are you going to do about school?" Katniss hadn't thought that far ahead yet. The University of Texas at Dallas wasn't a far drive from home, but she would still be missing class for a few weeks because of her court-mandated vacation time.

"I'll figure something out. C'mon. Mom wants me out of the house and on the road." Katniss picked up her duffel bag and her backpack and slung them both over her shoulder, refusing Prim's offer to help. Her own personal cab to Hell had arrived, and Gale and Thom were parked right behind it.

"We seriously owe you one, Katniss," Thom apologized as he stepped out of the car.

"Yeah, well I'll be sure to call you up to return the favor someday," Katniss grunted, tossing her bags into the trunk of the taxi cab. "Neither of you would have said anything if it'd been you."

"We still owe you," Gale said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He towered over her. "Find some way to keep in touch, okay? We'll try to spring you free as soon as we can." Katniss looked up at him with a small grin and tried to swallow her guilt. She'd told Gale and Thom that she was being sent to a correctional facility in Houston, because the alternative was ridiculously embarrassing. Half of her was still in denial over the whole issue.

"I'll hold you to that."

Katniss stared out the cab window and watched her home disappear. For fifteen weeks, she would be at the mercy of Haymitch Abernathy — assuming she lasted the entire time. It was more likely that the people there would rip her to pieces the minute she arrived. Katniss Everdeen wasn't exactly a popular name in the world of competitive gymnastics.

Yet, three years ago, Katniss had been one of them — a leotard-wearing, beam-balancing, chalk-clapping gymnast. And she'd been good. Good enough to earn a spot on the American Women's team at the Capitol Championships, the highest level of competition in gymnastics besides the Olympics. Three years ago, Katniss might have been proud to attend AGA and meet the famous Haymitch Abernathy, but a lot of things change when you walk out on your team during a national championship. A lot of things change afterwards, too.

Katniss sighed and dug her shoe into the upholstery of the cab floor. She never wanted to see the bright-lit world of gymnastics again, and now she was being forced back into it. One wrong move and she wouldn't just be hitting the ground, she'd be hitting a cot in state prison. No pressure.

The thought of meeting Haymitch Abernathy in the flesh was just as exciting. Once a famous and skilled gymnast himself, Abernathy had retired. Haymitch Abernathy's Gymnastics Academy trained a few of the best gymnasts the United States of America had ever seen, but that was before he took a dive off the deep end. A couple of girls on his team got injured and he took to training safe routines and drinking on the weekends. Nobody knew what his problem was, but he was obviously still good at business, because his gym kept growing and growing even after he lost his popularity. He brought in physical therapists to attend to his clients and bought some regular gymnasium equipment for his team to use. Eventually regular clients came in too, and he took their money with a smile plastered firmly to his once-handsome face.

Katniss thought about sleeping the rest of her ride away, but she wanted to draw out her remaining freedom for as long as she could. Two-thirds of her drive had already passed and it felt like nothing. Bribing the driver to turn around hadn't worked, either. Instead, she focused on counting mile markers and street lamps, wishing for a miracle to take her back home where she belonged.

The Abernathy Gymnastics Academy was sleeker than she was expecting it to look — the parking lot was bigger than the courtroom she'd been sentenced in. There were four handicapped parking spots at the door, and Katniss wondered who would possibly be using those as she hoisted her bags out of the trunk. Two wheelchair ramps flanked the front porch of the gym, and the doors automatically slid open as she stepped in front of the building. An overly cheerful woman checked her in, and Katniss felt a nervous wave roll through her stomach. Sure, the receptionist was nice, but she was like the lamp on the end of an anglerfish, and Katniss was its prey.

The gym's receptionist pointed her through another set of glass doors and turned back to her computer, clicking noisily at her keyboard. Katniss wrinkled her nose in distaste and pulled up her bags, looking backward at the door. If she knew her surroundings, she could just take off running. She was fast. She could get a couple of miles away before they caught up to her. Katniss noticed the receptionist eyeing her again, so she reluctantly stepped forward. Of course, she didn't make it more than five feet into the gym before a gravelly voice stopped her.

"Pleasure to finally meet you, sweetheart."


	2. The Gloves Come Off

**A/N:** Here's chapter two! Short little notes from me this time; I don't have full control over myself, but assume this is the approximate length chapters will be from now on! Also, while this story is built from major themes in Stick It!, you're gonna find me diverging from a lot of plotlines. I think it's better that way, keeps you guessing! Finally, I'm headed back to school next week so after the 20th, updates will be coming slower. Thank you again for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Pleasure to finally meet you, sweetheart."

Katniss pursed her lips and turned to face her new gymnastics coach. Haymitch Abernathy was leaning up against the wall behind her, looking her over. He seemed unimpressed. Katniss frowned and lifted her chin to meet his stare head on.

Haymitch's eyes were a cold, pale gray that clashed with his haphazardly groomed hair and dark, furrowed eyebrows. They made his open scrutiny of her even more jarring. Katniss was close enough to see a shadow of scratchy, uneven stubble was staking claim on his jaw. That didn't seem to fit him. She'd been expecting him to wear his hair slicked back the way he used to wear it for the big competitions. He wasn't dressed the way he used to, either — Haymitch wore a red-and-white warm up suit that bore the gym's logo on its front and back, his chest decorated with colored patches from sponsors. She noticed they weren't any companies she'd ever heard of — she figured they were local businesses. He couldn't find himself some decent name brands if he tried.

Undeniably, the strangest thing about Haymitch wasn't his invasive behavior — it was his fashion sense. His feet were bare except for a pair of chalky gray socks.

"First rule you're gonna learn in my gym, sweetheart —" he began, pushing off the wall, "no shoes, unless you have my special permission to wear them." Katniss snorted. He was obviously acting this way to startle her. She turned away to look at the other people in the gym and immediately saw he was, surprisingly, telling her the truth. None of the gymnasts or staff members were wearing shoes. Both of her eyebrows shot up in amused surprise, and she threw Haymitch a concerned look.

"Do you call everyone here sweetheart?"

"Not everybody," he replied, shaking his head. "Only the ones I find especially charming. Drop your bags. Let's go for a little walk, shall we?"

He took off in a slow circle around the first floor, giving her a chance to take in the entire gym. Several gymnasts were spread throughout this side of the building — some working on perfecting gainers for their bar routines, others dismounting off the edge of the vaults into a red foam pit. The gym itself was huge, spanning two floors and branching away from the middle on both sides to make room for the non-gymnast training area and the physical therapy center.

The walls were, without question, the gym's most ostentatious feature. Nearly everything was red or white. The open gym ceiling stretched two stories high, and the right and left walls were outfitted with old championship banners and logos boasting the gym's name. The other two — the walls directly in front of and behind Katniss — were made entirely of glass. One allowed for a full view of the back lot, which housed an outdoor recreational area and the gymnasts' dormitories, and the other looked into the physical therapy center, which was located in the heart of the building.

The handicapped parking spots made sense to Katniss now— it was nice that people with physical disabilities could receive treatment here without doing a lot of walking around. The ceilings were shorter in that part of the building, which meant the second floor office windows looked out to an impressive view of the gym below — that is, if goofy routines being performed by uptight men and women were something worth looking at.

"Listen up!" Haymitch shouted, drowning out every other noise in the gym. "I'd like you all to meet someone. This," he continued, gesturing grandly in Katniss' direction, "is Miss Katniss Everdeen, and she'll be — did I say you could stop working?" He turned to look at the uneven bars. A gymnast with short hair and brown eyes hung from the top bar, looking daggers at Katniss. Instead of pulling herself up onto the bar with a kip, she dropped to the floor with a thud and violently freed her wrist grips from her hands.

"What is she doing here?" she sneered, raking her eyes over Katniss with obvious contempt. Katniss met her stare with equal enthusiasm.

"Oh, joy," Haymitch chimed in. "I knew you'd be good at making friends."

Johanna Mason was only a year older than Katniss, but she stood at least four inches taller, even barefoot. Her brown hair was only just long enough to tie up in a ponytail, and it was currently shiny with sweat. Katniss remembered it being longer at the Capitol Championships, but that was three years ago. She never dreamed she would have to see Johanna again, much less train with her.

"Listen, ladies," Haymitch said, looking at Johanna pointedly. "Katniss hasn't trained for a while, so let's be sure to refrain from making any comments that have to do with her being out of shape or unfit for practice…or her clothes," he continued, looking up and down at Katniss' worn sweatshirt and jeans.

"Speaking of fashion sense, which you obviously know so much about," Katniss interrupted, "I just remembered: I don't have my leotards with me. Must have forgotten them at home," she shrugged apologetically.

"That's a damn shame," Haymitch agreed. He shook his head and grinned at her, which made her uncomfortable. He wasn't acting at all the way she'd expected him to, based on what she knew of him. He straightened up and leaned in close, impatience flooding his tone. "Don't interrupt me again. Go warm up, and lose the shoes."

She went to the other side of the gym, ignoring stares from the others. Katniss kicked her sneakers off with as much force as she could and ripped her sweatshirt from her body. She scowled in the direction of a few girls who laughed and glanced over to Haymitch, who was currently sitting near the lobby. His shoeless foot was propped up against his knee, and he bounced it arrogantly as he waited for her to continue.

"You want to watch me to warm up, huh?" Katniss barked, stretching out her arms and striding over near the tumbling floor. "How about a double back instead?" Haymitch's expression grew stormy.

"Don't you dare throw a double back without training it first!"

"Watch me." Haymitch was too far away to stop her, too slow to react. Katniss backed herself up against the wall and took a running start onto the spring floor. Her knees flew up and nearly connected with her ribs as she pumped across the carpet, clouds of chalk puffing up after her every stride. She sucked in a huge breath and balled her fists as she ran, ignoring the gasps from the others. When she was halfway across, she skipped, letting her hands shoot out as she twisted to face the floor. One push sent her flying up again, and she pivoted her hips, forcing her knees to bend just as her feet pounded into the floor with a crack. She shoved her hands against the ground and felt her braid whip the back of her neck as her body lifted into the air. Her wrists bent backwards to accommodate her sloppy back handspring, and then she was completely airborne. Katniss waited until she was completely upside down to draw her head and knees to her chest, and her braid smacked her arm twice as she spun toward the ground. After just a second she came out of her tuck, but with too much speed. Her legs ended up hitting the floor after the rest of her made contact with the ground.

Katniss exhaled with a shudder and a shaky, proud laugh; she hadn't moved that fast on her own in a long time. She didn't want to admit it, but for a moment she felt like she was riding Gale's four-wheeler again. The sounds of the gym — or rather, the sudden silence in the gym — washed over her just as Haymitch entered her field of vision and yanked her off of the ground.

"You think that's funny?" He growled, unkempt hair falling over his forehead. His grip on her arm was painfully tight, and he strengthened it each time she tried to pull away. "You have a hell of a lot to learn, sweetheart." He dragged her forward, grabbing his chair with his free hand. Once he reached the wall he tossed it to the side and shoved Katniss into the seat.

"You better pay attention, because this might just be the most important lesson you learn here," Haymitch spat, jabbing his finger at her face. Katniss moved to slap his hand away and he grabbed her wrist. "This is my world. There's no law in here but my law, and you will obey my law, or your ass will be right back on Highway 45 in a police car. If I tell you to train a trick before you perform it, then you will train the trick. If I tell you to show up for practice, you better ask me when and where, because we have a little motto around here, don't we?" he shouted, turning to face the rest of the gym. "What is our team motto, ladies?"

A chorus of voices answered him immediately. "Throw the tricks guaranteed —"

"— guaranteed to stick," Haymitch finished with them. "Catchy, isn't it?" His demeanor shifted instantly. He slapped both of Katniss' knees with open palms and pushed back with a grin on his face. "Back to work, ladies. Invitational's six weeks away."

Katniss scowled and held her chin high, refusing to acknowledge the burning in her cheeks and the whispers from the girls around her as Haymitch made his exit. Unfortunately, people were staring at her from inside the physical therapy center, too. She met their gazes, watching as they ducked their heads in embarrassment — all except for one. A boy who looked like he was her age met her eyes with amusement and smiled kindly at her from his spot on a bench. Katniss turned away.

Rage was pooling in her stomach. She didn't know what was worse: having Haymitch as a coach, a team that hated her, or nowhere to run to escape them both. She could feel eyes on her still and it was too much for her to handle. She stomped back through the lobby and ignored the outraged gasp she heard from the receptionist's desk as she rushed up the stairs. When she got to the top she ran to the end of the hallway, as far away from the offices as she could manage, and sunk down against the wall, behind a potted plant.

Katniss picked the leaves off the plant and started to tear them to shreds. What would Prim be doing right now? It was late in the day, so probably homework. She thought of the way Prim always tucked her feet underneath her when she sat at the kitchen table to work on assignments; the table was tall, and Prim was short for her age. She liked to do her work in the kitchen while their mother organized the cabinets and started to prepare dinner. It was the most peaceful room in their home, and it made Katniss' heart ache. What would her family think of her actions? If Prim was here, she'd probably have Haymitch wrapped around her little finger, offering to introduce her to the team and show her around the gym.

Of course, Katniss realized with a frown, that's exactly what he'd done when she showed up. She rose off her haunches and brushed bits of leaves off of her thighs with resignation. Determined to be civil, she wandered around the second floor until she found Haymitch's office and knocked quietly on the door.

"Make it quick." Katniss gripped the knob and pushed the door open, glancing around the office. If Haymitch was surprised to see her, he didn't show it. In fact, he almost looked like he had been expecting her.

"Well?" Haymitch swiveled in his chair and stared down his nose at her. She took a seat in the chair next to the door and bit her cheek.

"I came here to apologize," she admitted. "I'm here to train, and I know we're going to have to work together if that's gonna happen."

"Not off to a good start, are we?" He countered.

Katniss narrowed her eyes and learned forward in her chair, pushing her braid across her shoulder. "Are you just going to sit there and insult me? Do you get some kind of sick kick from making people feel like they're nobody?"

Haymitch put his feet up on the desk and crossed his arms behind his head. "First rule of the AGA, Miss Everdeen: my gym —"

"Your rules. I know," Katniss finished, standing from her chair. "But I don't care. If I'm going to be here," she argued, "if my family's going to pay you to coach me, then you're going to have to treat me with respect."

"Yeah?" Haymitch asked. "Maybe if you earn it." Katniss turned to leave — she'd had enough of his attitude, and every hour she wasted in this building was another chunk of her mother's paycheck wasted. She had enough guilt weighing her shoulders down.

"Hold on a second." Katniss tensed in the doorway of his office.

"You're a little fireball, aren't you?" Haymitch mused, standing to walk around his desk. The right corner of his mouth turned up and he stepped past her, shutting the door.

"Let's talk a little business. You want to stay out of jail, I'm assuming —" he started, waiting for her to nod before continuing. Reluctantly, she did. "That's good. Makes my job easier knowing you won't attack me in my sleep. I can see that you have a little trouble accepting authority that's not your own, so I'm making you a bet. You compete in the upcoming invitational, place and use the prize money to pay off your restitution debts, and you get to leave early. Lose, and you spend the rest of your time here with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. Sound good?"

"It sounds like a pile of bullshit," Katniss snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "You're gonna make me train in the main gym and embarrass myself in front of everyone?"

"You can use the old gym until you're ready to play nice." Haymitch answered. "Don't act like you don't think it's a fair deal. Your eyes give away more than you think they do. What's your real problem? Is it that you can't think of any other objections to shout at me or that you won't admit you might be good at something if you actually put some effort in?"

Katniss stood silently, searching his eyes for malice. She found fire and determination instead. Haymitch grinned when he saw her expression change and nodded approvingly, opening his office door and ushering her out.

"And Katniss —" Haymitch called, making her pause again. "Don't come into my gym with shoes tomorrow."

She rolled her eyes and walked over to the stairs. "Assuming I last that long." Haymitch crossed his fingers and shut his door.

* * *

Her mood deflated as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She lingered on the bottom step for a moment and shoved her hands in her sweatshirt. Haymitch's receptionist looked over at her with faint disapproval before turning back to her work, and Katniss chose to stare at her instead of thinking about her troubles. The receptionist's nails were painted a terrible shade of neon pink and were half as long as her fingers themselves. She wondered if they were real.

"Do you need something, dear?" She asked suddenly.

"Um, yes," Katniss replied, stalling for time. Her eyes swept around the lobby quickly, looking for escape. She spotted a rack of flashy leotards near her elbow and quickly grabbed the first one she saw in her size. "I need a new leotard."

"Well, then I suppose I better help you with that," she sniffed. "Come here, dear." Katniss crossed the room and handed her the leotard. "Oh, I just love this color!" The woman sang. Katniss wrinkled her nose; she'd thought the garment was completely black, but the entire lower half was decorated with a hot pink flame. She paid the woman and balled the leotard up in her fist. "Uh, thank you."

"You're welcome, dear. Oh, good! You've finished up for today? Let me help you sign out." Katniss gave her a strange look, but she was addressing someone behind her. She didn't bother sticking around as the woman greeted someone else with a shrill voice. It sounded like a younger male, but she was more interested in finding her bags. Sure enough, when she entered the gym, they were nowhere to be found.

"Looking for something?" Johanna sang sweetly. She was standing at the base of the climbing ropes, twirling them around in her hands. Katniss looked up and saw her luggage hanging from the rafters of the ceiling. Her shoes were tied together next to them.

She pushed her braid over her shoulder and marched over to the ropes, wrenching one from Johanna's hand without a word. She latched onto the thick rope with both hands and feet and pushed herself, putting all of her anger into the climb. Before long, she reached the top. Now all she had to worry about was getting down in one piece.

With one foot, Katniss pulled the rope beneath her and wrapped it in an S-curl around her ankles. Secure, she leaned out, pulling her shoes off of the ceiling rail first and looping them around her neck. She reached for her backpack next and felt herself slide a little, earning gasps from the group below. A small crowd had gathered around her, watching with curiosity and, in Johanna's case, disgust. Katniss smirked a little to herself.

Her backpack slid down easily, but she had to grapple with it for a moment to get it onto her back. For a moment she simply hung in the air, resting her arm, but her legs were beginning to protest. She snatched the heavy duffel bag out of the air and immediately felt it tugging her downward. With one free arm, she descended the rope and dropped as lightly as she could onto the ground. Katniss' mere presence parted the group of girls around her.

She reached the lobby just in time to see a blond boy saying his goodbyes to the receptionist. He paused for a moment, readjusting the pair of crutches he was using to support himself, and Katniss stared openly. The receptionist — Effie, he'd called her — was beaming at him, and he was smiling back at her as he shifted the crutches under his arms, careful to keep from placing any weight on his left leg. A small gym bag bounced between his wide shoulders as he moved, and Katniss could see his shirt bore the Texas A&M Men's Ice Hockey team logo. Before she could turn her eyes away, though, Effie noticed her watching him.

"Katniss! Come and meet Peeta Mellark," Effie trilled, rising up out of her seat. "Peeta, Katniss here is one of Haymitch's new star recruits!"

Peeta stopped what he was doing and offered her his free hand instead. Cautiously, Katniss approached him and shook it.

"Star recruit?" Peeta asked, lifting his head with a smile. Katniss opened her mouth to deny his praise, but he was still talking. "So you're here to flip and compete like the rest of these girls, huh?"

Katniss yanked her hand out of Peeta's grip and furrowed her brows at him. Effie let out a startled gasp and actually clutched her chest.

"You don't know a thing about me," she grumbled, running out the door without saying goodbye to either of them. Some small voice in her ear wondered whether he'd only been trying to make conversation, but she shoved it aside. Being made fun of by a stranger just about constituted her breaking point. Her face burned as she marched around the building and made her way down to the women's dorms, threw the door open and shuffled up the stairs to find an unclaimed bed. She flung her bags up on the mattress of the first empty bunk she saw.

Katniss wound up herself staring down in the bathroom mirror. Her skin was red and blotched, and her hair was coming out of its braid in several places. It took five full minutes for her to untie her shoelaces and put them on her feet again, but as soon as she did, she took off running.

The Texas sun was drifting lazily through the sky, halfheartedly chasing her as she ran along the highway. Sundown was still an hour away, and she knew nobody would be looking for her. The air was hot and dry, and her body was sheathed in a thick layer of sweat. It felt like freedom. She widened her stride a little and ignored the cars that honked at her as she passed, losing herself in the run. For a while, she could forget about who she was and focus on the rhythmic pounding of her feet against the ground and her braid against her back.

The sun eventually fell below the horizon line, and Katniss knew it was time to turn back. She pushed herself even harder, berating herself for growing tired so quickly after such a short a run. It hurt her pride to be this physically out of shape.

She could hear voices drifting through the windows as she jogged up to the women's dorm and clutched at a stitch in her side. The front door was open, although she suspected that was more out of forgetfulness rather than kindness.

To her surprise, no one turned to look up at her when she entered the room. A few of the girls had gathered on the couches, boxes of pizza at their feet. Katniss' stomach grumbled, but she strode past them without looking back.

It took a full five minutes for the shower to heat up, but as far as she was concerned, the longer it took, the better. It was more time she didn't have to spend in the presence of people who despised her. Eventually, after her hair was unbraided and the mirror had completely fogged up, she stripped down and stepped under the water.

Steaming hot water coursed over her shoulders and down her sides, sending little rivulets off her elbows and onto the tile below. Like everything else at the Abernathy Gymnastics Academy, the bathroom seemed shiny and new. She could see her reflection clearly in the shower drain between her feet, and almost as well in the gleaming wall tiles. Haymitch probably made the girls clean these bathrooms themselves. His behavior unhinged her, and she had no idea what to expect when she went into the gym tomorrow. She wondered whether Haymitch was the type of person who kept his promises, or the type who liked to dangle promises just out of people's reach, only to yank them away at the last moment.

In the end, as she was toweling off and changing into a pair of dark basketball shorts and a loose, sleeveless shirt, Katniss decided not to trust him either way. He had demanded obedience from her, not respect, and that was exactly what he was going to get. As for her teammates —

Laughter trickled through the walls from the common room, along with the voice of a local news anchor. They were discussing the upcoming gymnastics invitational, of all things, and Katniss knew she didn't want to hear another word of it. It was still early, but she balled up her dirty clothes and threw them next to her bags on the floor. She turned out the light without stopping to put sheets on the bed. She would deal with that tomorrow too.

She hoisted herself up onto the mattress and curled in a tight ball, turning her back to face the door. It was easy to make out the muffled sound of the television through the wall, so she covered her face with her pillow and tucked her elbow under her ear. Morning was coming fast, and if she was going to prove herself to Haymitch Abernathy and his squad of gymnasts, she was going to need as much rest as she could get.


	3. The Release

**A/N:** As usual, I am only claiming ownership of dialogue, settings, concepts and characters that were **not** originally part of The Hunger Games or Stick It! I'm really trying to surge ahead and get as far as I can with this before school starts up again, but bear with me if mistakes get through! I've been having a lot of fun incorporating the athleticism of gymnastics into this story, and hopefully by now someone's seeing a pattern in the chapter titles! I'm someone who really loves to read the slow-burn romance, too, so fair warning there. Please keep reviewing and stay tuned for updates, let me know what you're thinking! Thank you all so much for reading so far, and thank you to **raissa20** for your kind reviews!

* * *

Katniss pried her eyelids apart and peeled her body from the mattress beneath her. The room was still dark, and all of her new roommates were still asleep. Good. She clambered down from her top bunk and started to dress. Her search for something to wear was halfhearted — she knew she would stand out like a sore thumb in her gym shorts and baggy shirts — until her hands briefly skimmed her new spandex leotard. She tossed it to the back of her duffel bag and vehemently shoved her hands deeper, searching for suitable clothes with newfound vigor.

Dawn was breaking by the time she managed to wrestle a pair of clean gray shorts from her bag. She pulled a racerback shirt over her sports bra and jogged down to the gym with bare feet. She was starving.

"Good morning Katniss." Effie huffed. She was tapping away at her computer, her nails a vivid lime green. Katniss looked at her as she stood in front of the lobby's vending machine. "You were extremely rude yesterday, both to me and to Peeta."

"I'm sorry, Effie. I, um — I wasn't trying to be rude."

"Yes, well I'm sure you'll do better today, won't you?" Effie brightened, raising her brows and offering her the smallest of smiles. "Now that you've settled in."

"I'm sure I will," Katniss replied flatly. Effie seemed satisfied for the moment, so she bought two packs of granola bars and shuffled away.

The old gym, the one Haymitch had granted her exclusive access to for what would probably be the duration of her stay, was on the far right wing of the building. It was currently bathed in early morning sunlight — she could see hundreds of tiny wisps of dust and chalk dancing aimlessly in the rays of light and tumbling through the air. The smell, of course, was all too familiar.

She quickly decided the old gym was her favorite place in the whole academy. It was certainly the only place where she felt even remotely welcome. The therapy center blocked a good portion of the new gym from her view, and the uneven bars were turned so she could keep her back to everything else. As she stretched, she watched some of the gym's regular clients running along the treadmills and lifting weights. Some had accessories they'd obviously purchased here, like the older man on the rowing machine with the AGA gym bag and water bottle, but most of the others looked a lot like she did. And unlike the gymnasts who stared at her with either curiosity or hatred on their faces, they looked like a quiet bunch that kept to themselves.

Katniss rolled her ankles, unsure of where to start. Her attempt at floor yesterday had been a thrill, but this was real. She had no idea if she could actually do this. After a moment of picking fuzz from the carpet she stood, pushed her braid behind her shoulder and made her way over to the balance beam. It was as good a start as anything else.

She pulled herself onto the beam, testing the scratchy leather beneath her feet. The world tilted as she pushed into a handstand and straightened her spine. It lasted for all of two seconds, and then she was on the floor again.

A familiar sensation coursed through her body — failure. She made herself stand to try again and hit the ground twice before she was steady on the beam, but on her fourth attempt something clicked. She bent her legs in the air above her experimentally, waiting for her body to give in and tumble over, but she felt solid. Congratulations, she told herself, you can now compete with the seven-year-olds.

Haymitch came to visit her in the afternoon when she was on the bars, practicing the Tkatchev. All she had to do was jump from the lower bar to the higher bar, swing completely around it, let go of it completely just as she was parallel to the ground, push her hips up, touch her toes and let her momentum guide her backwards over the bar in time to grab hold of it again. Of course, with him watching her every move, she couldn't manage to get her legs back in time. It started to become a rhythm in her head — the reverberation of the bar in its metal case. The smack of her hands leaving the bar itself. The thud of the mat against her back, her legs, even her face. Haymitch stood silently, watching her with interest.

"I thought you said you hadn't done this for three years. It looks like you never left." The mat burns on her knees flared red with heat. She brushed them off and rose from the Katniss-shaped imprint in the mat.

"I think you need to get your eyes checked."

"It's on my list. How about you slow it down and show me a double pike dismount." He slapped the lower bar with his hand and stepped through the apparatus, waiting at the other end of the mat. Katniss pulled herself up and swung from the lower bar to the higher bar, circling it with a few gainers just to test her momentum. She let go and grabbed onto her thighs, spinning twice in the air before landing on her feet.

"You've gotta throw your hips higher."

"I'm pushing as hard as I can," she argued, tossing her braid behind her back.

"Push harder," he shrugged, walking back to the side of the bar. "Or better yet, take a break to stretch and work on something else. You're not going to win anything with wobbly handstands and a couple of bar routines."

Katniss glowered and followed him, massaging the sore spots on her hands that weren't already blistered. "All right, then, what would you have me do?" She asked, nodding toward the rest of the equipment.

"After your _break_," he retorted, "I want to see how you do on the vault. If I remember correctly, that was one of your particular favorites."

"Fine. Then I'm taking a break," she replied, crossing her arms.

"Fine," He smiled, mimicking her tone. "Go pull five thousand meters on the rowing machines."

Katniss rolled her eyes and walked toward the water fountains, glad to get away from him and the uneven bars. A blister had already opened on the inside of her thumb and it was stinging painfully, begging for relief. She found some tape on a storage shelf and wrapped her hands thoroughly before settling down on the seat of a rowing machine near the wall.

She turned the dial on her wheel forward, putting as much resistance on the chain as she could and pulling the bar to her chest with ferocity. After five hundred meters she was sweating. The tape on her hands was starting to roll and pinch, and it felt good. Her heart was pounding in her ears, the constant stretch and release of her limbs strangely relaxing her. Twenty-five minutes came and went before she realized she had rowed a good hundred meters over her limit. She let go of the bar and let it bounce back into its hold with a loud, metallic bounce.

"Come here often?" She had just finished her workout when a warm, honeyed voice spoke up behind her. She pivoted on the seat and saw a pair of lips smiling lazily at her. Above the lips were a straight nose and a pair of wry, sea-green eyes that were roving her entire face with amusement.

Katniss curled her lip and looked up at the boy beside her. "Do I look like someone who falls for one of those lines?"

He laughed and shook his head blithely. "I thought you looked like someone in need of a distraction. My mistake," he ceded, raising his hands in surrender. "Although, just for improvement's sake…would that have gone better if I was shirtless right now?"

"Oh, that definitely would have made a difference," she replied sarcastically.

"I'll remember that for next time. I'm Finnick, by the way, in case you were wondering."

"The only thing I'm wondering, Finnick," she said, imitating the silky tone of his voice, "is why you're harassing complete strangers as they try to work out."

"I'm a people person. Since you obviously aren't, I had to be the one to initiate our conversation. This is the part of it where you tell me your name," he prompted, as if he was talking to a child.

"Will you leave me alone if I do?" He raised his eyebrows and shrugged a little, glancing at her from the corner of his eye while a slow grin spread onto his face.

"My name is Katniss Everdeen."

"That's what I thought. I'll see you around, Katniss Everdeen," he winked, turning around and striding away before she could protest. Katniss watched him sit down at a leg press halfway across the gym from her and wink at the other gymnasts who were watching him stretch. They giggled at him, and she fumed.

She marched back to Haymitch, who was reclining comfortably against the vault mat.

"Enjoy your break? I see you're still making friends."

Katniss shot him a narrow look as she peeled the sweaty tape from her hands and made her way to the edge of the vault track. He shook his head and laughed under his breath, rising up to make room for her to land.

"Take it easy," he called as she ran down the floor. "You haven't been back that long, and you don't want to —" Katniss flew past him and pounced off the springboard into a handspring front. She would've landed it, too, if it weren't for Haymitch's voice in her ear.

"I said take it easy! Are you listening to me? Did you get a piece of foam lodged in your ear earlier?"

"No."

"Then slow it down," he commanded. "I want you to run through a couple times and focus on your breathing."

She walked back to the edge of the floor and looked to him, raising her eyebrows. He nodded his approval, and she took off running toward the vault again. This time, she bounced off of the board and up onto the vault itself, standing nearly twice as tall as Haymitch. He made her jump down and repeat the process another four times.

"Well?" She asked impatiently, jogging past him again. "Are we done with this part yet?"

"That depends. Have you figured out what's wrong with your run yet?" He countered.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with the way she ran. In fact, she knew she was faster than at least half of the other girls on the team. "What about it?"

"You're pushing your heels too far back," he explained, coming around the vault to her. "Keep your heels light and push your legs forward when you run, and you'll jump higher. Go again."

Katniss could feel several sets of eyes on her back as she walked to the edge of the track. She turned around and rolled her braid off her shoulder, eyes locked on Haymitch for guidance. He nodded, and she took off down the runway, keeping her feet light. Katniss planted her hands down and cartwheeled onto the springboard, immediately pushing off of the vault and rotating in a full layout to the floor.

Haymitch clapped slowly, cocking his head toward her. "That's more like it. Why don't you try it again for your audience over there?"

Katniss peered over her shoulder. Several of her teammates were standing at the edge of the floor and the tumble track, watching her every move. Some of the gym's regular clients were even leaning out from their machines to see what she would do. She pawed at the runway with her foot and locked her eyes on the vault again.

Her legs felt like tightly coiled springs, and her heart was in her throat. This was exactly what she didn't want — an audience. Haymitch was challenging her silently, looking at them and then back at her again, daring her to back down. Like a shot out of a cannon, she took off. The gym became a blur of red and white as she raced down the runway, arms and legs flying. She launched herself at the springboard fearlessly, brushing the vault with what felt like just the tips of her fingers before flying up into a twist and somehow sticking her landing.

The gym was silent except for a few seconds of applause from Haymitch and one loud, gleeful crow from Finnick. The corner of her mouth twitched up into a grin.

Haymitch reached out and offered an arm to her, helping her down off the mat. "You know, for someone who claims to hate this sport, you're awfully good at it."

Her expression darkened, and she drew her arm away from Haymitch once she was on the floor. "I never said I hated it," she replied quietly. He looked at her seriously for a moment before walking away.

* * *

The next week was physical torture. Katniss could feel her muscles starting to tense and burn, and hauling bags of ice up to the top floor of the building always made it worse. She had forgotten what it was like to have her muscles tear themselves apart and grow back together. It was like being on fire, and the hot Texas nights weren't helping.

She lowered herself into the tub, a low hiss escaping her throat. Her sports bra was soaked already, a mixture of sweat and water that had her teeth chattering. Ice cubes clinked around the edge of the porcelain and underneath her knees, numbing every exposed inch of her skin. Little by little, her body accumulated to the water, and she leaned her head back to rest.

"Thanks for that. Now we go to Jeff as he revisits one of the most dramatic Capitol Championships this country has ever seen."

Every muscle in her upper body tensed. Now that the ice had stopped moving, Katniss could hear her roommates in the common area. They were listening to a local news broadcast about the upcoming invitational.

"Katniss Everdeen, wild-child of elite gymnastics and fan favorite, was just one routine away from bringing home the gold when she walked out on her teammates. Some say a tragedy in the family got in the way of her ability to compete — "

"Did they ever find out why?" She heard one of the girls ask.

"Who cares?" another responded. "They're about to start talking about this years' competition."

"It's not easy to forget the image of Everdeen's teammates and rivals standing there in absolute shock as she walked out of the world of gymnastics that day. The young lady we saw knocking over the judges' scorecards is Johanna Mason, another member of team USA whose dreams of gold walked away when Katniss did. She's slated to compete this year at the Capitol Championships, and —"

She couldn't bear to listen anymore. Slowly, she lifted herself out of the tub, hot tears cascading down her cheeks and mixing with the cold droplets on her skin. For a second she stood bewildered, staring down at her chest as the tears fell, mesmerized by the momentary warmth they brought.

She was Katniss Everdeen, the girl who failed, and no matter how hard she trained she would always feel hateful stares piercing the skin between her shoulder blades, always hear local newscasters mourning her apparent loss of sanity. She knew that the second she stepped foot inside the Abernathy Gymnastics Academy, but knowing didn't take away the pain she felt when it happened.

She took a deep breath, wiped her face with her hands and pushed her chin up from her chest. Leaving the bathroom took an indefinite amount of courage, so she walked as quickly as her muscles would allow to her room. She changed into a pair of shorts and a hooded sweatshirt and pulled out the only set of clean sheets she'd brought with her, taking in the scent of home until her lungs were full. No one bothered her as she took extra time to tuck the sheets under the mattress and dutifully smooth the creases out of her pillowcase. It made her homesick for Prim, even for her mother, whom she hadn't had an actual conversation with in months.

Her pale sheets rested lightly over her legs as she curled up on the bed, staring at the blisters on her hands. The unbroken skin of her palms was pale compared to the deep pink of the new flesh beneath. She fell asleep alone, tracing circles on her skin.

* * *

Katniss grumbled to herself, clutching her rib and doing her best to keep pressure off of her ankle. A run had seemed like a really good idea when she woke up early that morning, and now she was paying for it. She'd been trying to make up for three years of lost time before a pothole had slowed her down. She'd been stupid not to see it in the heat waves on the pavement. It wasn't anything big, but it was definitely going to slow her progress, and Haymitch would definitely chew her out if he saw her limping around the gym.

She turned up onto the driveway of the gym and started doing lunges, stretching her legs against a bench before another day of nonstop gymnastics. The hot sun was well on its way to the center of the sky; she could feel the heat of it in her hair already. A car door slammed shut behind her and Katniss turned to find herself face-to-face with Peeta Mellark.

She straightened up immediately, instantly self-conscious in her bike shorts and sports bra. She'd chosen them for the weather, not for attention. He looked anxious too, slowing down instantly as he recognized her.

Peeta was wearing a maroon shirt with black shorts and carrying the same Texas A&M bag he had before; it looked comically small hanging between his broad shoulders. Katniss noticed he was still keeping his weight off of his leg, obviously nursing some kind of sprain or fracture, but otherwise he looked fit. Of course he does, Katniss reminded herself. He's a hockey player. He was probably in the middle of summer training. Peeta's face was bright, but his fingers drummed nervously against the grip on his crutch as he approached her.

"Are you okay? Your ankle..."

Katniss straightened up and silently cursed Haymitch for his crazy no-shoe policy. Her ankle was bruising, but that didn't matter. She was planning on earning a lot of bruises later when she practiced her dismounts.

"I wanted to apologize for the other day," he continued, combing his fingers through his hair. "We kind of got off to a bad start, huh?"

"It's fine," Katniss stuttered, surprised by the sharp tone of her own voice. "I mean, you don't have anything to apologize for."

"If you say so." Peeta shrugged, limping a few steps closer to the door. "You should have seen the look on Effie's face when you ran out. I've never seen her make a face like that."

"Really?" A small grin grew on her face.

He nodded. "She's pretty dramatic for a receptionist."

"Well, she does work for Haymitch."

"He's not that bad, once you get to know him." Something in Peeta's voice changed, and Katniss' face fell. For a moment it looked like he was going to say more about it, but then his expression changed again. "Hey, are you coming in?" He asked suddenly, pointing toward the door with one of his crutches. "I have an appointment in the therapy center I'm gonna be late for."

Peeta's subtle reminder brought her back to reality. She wasn't a good conversationalist, and he was probably regretting the entire exchange. "Go on in," she said, pulling one leg behind her in a stretch, "I'm gonna be out here for a little while longer."

"Okay. Have a good day in there, Katniss. It was nice meeting you for real." Peeta turned and left her outside.

Katniss slumped down onto a bench, pulling her hurt ankle up and kneading it with her hands. At least it wasn't swollen anymore. She waited a good three minutes under the sun, which was hotter than ever, before going through the lobby and saying a quick hello to Effie.

Stalling for time was a must, she decided. The longer she worked out on the regular machines, the more time she would have to let her ankle rest before she had to do any actual work. Maybe she was thinking positively, but the more she walked on it, the better she felt. Something in the air outside had rejuvenated her, and despite her protesting ankle, it had her thinking that today might not be as impossible to get through as she originally thought.

Katniss walked over to the bench press and lifted a few weights onto each side of the bar and taped up her hands again. It wouldn't stop her from getting rips the size of nickels on the bar later, but it certainly helped her old rips to keep from tearing. She let her mind wander as she hoisted the bar off of its hold and up into the air.

Prim was probably just getting to her first class of the day, giggling and laughing with her classmates about boys and unfair teachers and upcoming football games. Prim's laughter always bubbled up like a rush of uncontainable energy so contagious that even the thought of it made Katniss grin to herself with pride. It made her happy to think of Prim growing up so well. Her family had suffered for a long time after they lost their father, and for a while even Prim's smile was a rare sight in the Everdeen household.

Katniss also knew that Prim had to be happy to know she was here. Prim used to be the loudest fan at Katniss' meets, cheering even when her scores were low and she'd brush tears from her face with chalky fingertips. There were times when she'd wondered whether this sport she'd sacrificed years of her life to train for was worth the effort, and then she'd catch a glimpse of Prim in the stands with her mother and, when he wasn't working, her father, grinning with uninhibited joy. That's how she knew that all the mindless rules and the long hours had been worth it. Now, she wasn't so sure.

Katniss could hear female voices giggling across the gym all of a sudden. She was still working on her bench press, so she couldn't see the source of their amusement until he leaned over her.

"You're always so sweaty when I see you. Do I really get you that hot and bothered?"

"One of the two." Katniss grunted, lowering the weight back down her chest.

Finnick raised a bronze eyebrow at her and snorted. "Someone's in a good mood today." He grabbed the bar, letting his fingers skim the side of her hand as he began to spot her.

Finnick's new favorite past time was purposefully messing around, trying to make her uncomfortable with his inappropriate body language and suggestive speech. Normally she would have kept away, but Katniss found him amusing. He liked to hear himself talk and she found that she liked listening to his voice, even when he was whispering lurid sentiments into her ear and telling her secrets about the gym's clientele. He always talked to her like they were good friends rather than newfound acquaintances, and he liked to make fun of people in the gym as much as she did.

"See that woman over there, the one with the headphones?" He said in a low voice, flicking his eyes toward the treadmills. "Her husband drops her off every Wednesday and Friday morning, but she spends her whole workout flirting with yours truly."

"Oh, what, like you don't egg her on?" Katniss challenged, wiping the bench down with and walking to the fountains to get a drink. "You love it."

"Sure, but she's hardly my type," Finnick responded, leaning against the wall beside her. "Tell me, Katniss, do they have you on a twenty-four hour lockdown around here?"

"What Haymitch doesn't know won't kill him," she replied mischievously. "What did you have in mind?"

"Food that doesn't come from that vending machine in the lobby."

"Give me five minutes to grab my shoes." Finnick smirked as she ran through the lobby and down the grassy lot to her dormitory, and Katniss found herself smiling all the way to her room. Sure, it was almost 11 o'clock, and she hadn't done a thing besides lift weights and run, but the promise of a hot meal was too good to pass up. She'd been living on prepackaged granola and breakfast bars for days now.

After swiping a much-needed layer of deodorant under her arms and throwing on a shirt, Katniss bounced down the stairs, relishing the feeling of socks and shoes on her feet. Finnick was already outside waiting for her, leaning up against a blue car and stretching his long tan legs out against the pavement. He had shoes on, shinier and newer than the worn pair she was currently sporting.

"Those are nice," she nodded, gesturing down to the sneakers he wore.

"My coach bought us new ones last spring," he replied breezily, crossing one foot over the other. So he was an athlete, too. Katniss opened her mouth to ask him what team he played for before thinking better of it. He would probably spend their entire trip bragging about whatever sport he played and how he was the star player of the entire division. Instead, she let her back rest on the side of his car and closed her eyes, reveling in the fresh air and sunlight.

"What are we waiting for, exactly?" she asked, her stomach rumbling.

"Not what," Finnick remarked, pushing off the car with his hips. "Who. Here he comes now."

Katniss opened her eyes just as Peeta made his way through the sliding doors of the gym and down the handicapped ramp, heading straight towards them. Her eyebrows shot up in confusion and she turned her head to Finnick. He was already grinning widely, expecting her to react this way.

"You know each other?"

Finnick reached across her, pulling the car door open for her. He spoke in an even, quiet voice, even though Peeta was still hundreds of yards away. "Peeta and I are teammates — we play for Texas A&M's hockey team. I've been driving him here ever since he started coming for therapy on his leg. Got my membership card in the mail last week." Katniss looked over his shoulder at Peeta. He was slow going, but he was almost halfway to the far side of the parking lot.

"You play hockey? I thought flirting with gymnasts and personal trainers was a full-time commitment."

"Oh, Katniss, I'm the co-captain and starting goalie." Finnick laughed at her scowl and laid his arm across the open door of the car, waiting patiently for her to get in. "You should see him on the ice…" he continued, nodding toward Peeta, who was almost at the car. "He sprained his ankle in practice, but he's healing fast. He'll be ready for the first game of the season. Has he told you what his position is?"

She shook her head. Finnick leaned inappropriately close to her then, his nose nearly brushing the side of her cheek as he purred in her ear. "He's what we call a grinder."

Katniss' cheeks grew hot. She flushed, slapping him away just as Peeta walked within earshot and greeted them with a confused grin. She dove into the car quickly, suddenly dreading their little excursion. Finnick helped Peeta stow his crutches in the trunk of the car and into the passenger's seat, turning around to smirk at Katniss as she glowered in the backseat.


	4. Home-Ice Advantage

**A/N:** Let me start by apologizing for how late I am with this! I originally guessed it might take me around a week (7-10 days to be more exact) for me to finish this, fix errors and upload, but the first week of class and work really tripped me up! I'm so thrilled to have you all following and leaving such kind reviews anyway. Thank you especially to **secretTHGluver,** **Angel Girl, phoebe . misaka, leigh.m5576 and raissa20 **again - it helps _so_ _much_ to know that my writing is coherent (I may always regret not writing this in first person/compare myself to other writers, ugh) and that you're actually enjoying it all! Also, let me know if you spy any spelling/weird grammar mistakes that might have slipped under the radar.

Lastly, let me swear that I will not let more than three weeks pass without making some sort of update happen (unless some kind of emergency comes up, of course. **I** **strongly recommend keeping track of me on malefidei . tumblr . com **if you have any questions or are wondering where the next update is!) I'm positive I can make that promise and still write this fic as something I can be proud of! I have the next few chapters all plotted out and lots of wonderful ideas for the future, so please chime in and talk to me! I would love to things like Finnick's beauty and Katniss' social awkwardness with any and all of you :)

* * *

Katniss sank down low in the backseat of the car, making sure neither boy could see the mortified look on her face in any of Finnick's mirrors. Without checking, she knew hew cheeks were bright red and the last thing she wanted was for one of them to ask her what was wrong. Hiding emotions wasn't one of her strengths.

Finnick's words were harmless, really. Every day he came in to the gym with a new pick-up line to whisper in her ear and every day he acted hurt when she shot him down; his suggestive words were just another part of the easy banter they shared with each other. He loved riling her up more than he loved flirting with the young moms that brought their daughters to practice at the academy, and he was getting really good at it. The more he learned about her, the more he incorporated into their little game, like that time he'd found out her favorite strength-building exercise was climbing the ropes and he'd asked if she was interested in knots and ropes. This time, thought, she'd handed him an opportunity to unsettle her without knowing it; Peeta was a variable she hadn't accounted for.

"So, Katniss," Finnick hummed, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, "where to?"

"I don't know. Haymitch doesn't exactly take us out for family dinners…everyone just kind of fends for themselves."

"So you've been eating granola bars and fruit strips this whole time? A growing girl like you needs better options." He reached back to poke her in the knee. "There's a Chik-fil-A, a Wendy's, like, eight thousand different barbecue restaurants —"

"We had barbecue last night, Finnick!" Peeta pointed out.

"— and there's always this really gross bakery Peeta tries to make me eat at —"

He cried out, shoving Finnick's shoulder. "He's talking about my family's bakery," he explained, shifting around in his seat. "We go al the time. He loves it there. He's just mad because Coach told him to cut back on the sweets."

Finnick protested, but Katniss ignored him, shifting up in her seat. "Your family owns a bakery? That's, um, —"

"Surprising for a hockey player?" Finnick interrupted. "Kind of like how it's surprising that you're not wearing a bunch of glittery spandex and doing somersaults right now?"

Finnick raised his eyebrows at her in the mirror, waiting for her to take the bait. She turned to Peeta instead. "Will you decide where we're eating, please?"

He ended up choosing a burger joint with more menu items than she had ever seen at a fast-food restaurant. Rather than pulling into a parking spot, though, Finnick drove around to the drive-through window. At first she was disappointed, but then she remembered Peeta's leg. Finnick caught her eye just then, as if he knew what she was thinking, and verified her suspicions with a nod. Katniss wondered then whether this trip was for him just as much as it was for her.

It didn't take long for them to order and find an empty parking spot to dine in. Peeta and Finnick's car doors were wide open, and both boys had covered the dashboard with their food. Katniss found herself lounging comfortably against the back seat, her feet stretched out the window and her hands full of food. The sun was red behind her eyelids when she sighed and for a long moment, she thought she heard the crickets in the forest back home again. Finnick's car was quickly taking over the old gym's place in her heart.

"So Texas ice hockey," Katniss prompted, sucking the last crumbs of her sandwich from her fingers. "What's that like?"

Finnick was working on a large bite of his own burger, so Peeta answered first. "We're one of thirteen D2 conferences, and one of six teams in the conference. That means we're all right."

"He's being humble," Finnick insisted through a mouthful of food, "we'll be starting ranked tenth this season."

Katniss looked to Peeta for confirmation. He shrugged lightly and picked a french fry off of Finnick's plate.

"Tenth of how many? That sounds pretty good to me."

"Yeah, well once Peeta's ankle heals we'll be in the single digits, which will sound even better."

"Assuming I can still play like I used to," Peeta argued. "If it gets better in time, we might have a good shot."

Finnick tried to argue, insisting that he was the star player on the team and that he'd be back to his old self before long. To hear Finnick tell it, Peeta was a fan favorite before his injury, which had happened during an early practice. Apparently, rather than being known for his scoring, he was one of their best defensemen, one who ran in to take a hit in order to preserve his teammate. Neither of them seemed willing to go into a lot of detail about his accident, and Katniss didn't ask.

Peeta was obviously an athlete who loved his sport, who hated that he couldn't support his team when they needed him, whereas she had quit gymnastics at the height of her career and ruined the dreams of almost all of her teammates in the process. He was dying to be there for his team and she hadn't even said goodbye to hers.

His face would probably look a lot like theirs had if he ever found out.

The loud crinkling of Finnick's trash startled her back into focus. "Whatever," Finnick complained as he got up to throw out the trash, snatching Peeta's from under his chin. "She can see I'm right when she comes to our games."

Peeta looked at Katniss with wide blue eyes. "You would do that? Come watch us play?" He beamed at her so brightly that Katniss found it impossible to let him down.

"Sure."

His smile grew, and the sight of it caught her breath. There was something in the small dimples that appeared on his cheeks and the curve of his lips that warmed her, somehow. One corner of his mouth pulled a little higher than the other when he smiled, drawing her attention to a small sunken scar on his cheek. But it wasn't just that he was the first person who had genuinely smiled at her like that, it was something completely unique to Peeta himself. Looking at him was like looking at the sun, the same sun that turned leaves to gold in her woods back home. His eyes flitted to each of hers for a moment before he turned around in his seat, just in time for Finnick to return to the car.

"Time to return the prisoner," Finnick sang, buckling his seat belt with one hand and turning onto the highway with the other. "How much time do you think you'll do for escaping?"

"Whatever Haymitch does, it was still worth it…which reminds me, how much do I owe you?" She reached into her pocket for her crumpled wad of cash and nudged Finnick's shoulder with her fist.

"You're not paying me for lunch, Katniss."

"Like hell I'm not," she argued. "How much do I owe you?"

"I'm not taking your money!"

Katniss huffed, letting her hand drop into her lap. "I'm buying next time, then."

"So there's a 'next time' now?" Peeta asked. Katniss could hear the smile in his voice, even though he hadn't turned around. "I thought he said you weren't a people person."

"I also said she was nice once you got to know her, asshole. He never listens."

Less than five minutes of awkward silence later, she was getting dropped back at AGA. The sun was doing its best to blind her, reflecting brightly off the windows of the gym as Finnick pulled up to the front door to let her out. Break time was over, and she was still wearing shoes. Katniss trudged over to the dormitory, tossed her shoes into the corner of her bag and went to the bathroom before heading down to the gym. She'd been expecting to find an angry Haymitch waiting for her when she arrived, but he was nowhere to be found. Instead, the minute she entered the gym she was flocked by three of her teammates, demanding to know where she'd been.

"Wait, wait — you went out to lunch with _two_ boys? And Finnick Odair was one of them?" The tall blonde named Madge asked in a dramatic whisper, even though it was still early in the afternoon.

"How did you meet him, Katniss? He talks to you all the time, I see him looking for you sometimes when you run in the afternoons and he comes to get his friend —"

"Can anybody explain to me why we're standing around instead of practicing our floor routine?" Johanna interrupted, elbowing her way into the half-circle that had formed around Katniss.

"Katniss went out to lunch with Finnick and his friend today," one of the shorter girls replied, looking over at her with a small grin. She seemed impressed, almost approving of Katniss' behavior. It was the first time her teammates had offered her anything in the way of friendship, and she had no idea what to do with it.

"We're friends," she stammered, shrugging her shoulders at Johanna. "It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, well you know what is a big deal? Invitationals is only weeks away and we're here standing around instead of running through our drills and routines! Haymitch might not be here right now, but that doesn't mean we can all run off and go crazy. Some of us have a lot riding on this meet." Johanna sauntered away, leaving a chill in the air that sent the rest of Katniss' teammates away with guilty looks on their faces, especially Madge. Katniss tossed her braid and turned to face her equipment with the same amount of enthusiasm.

* * *

The old floor yawned before her, its tape curling at the edges and carpet fraying in all but one corner. Little beams of late afternoon sun were stretching across the gym and lighting patches of the floor as she danced around it, twisting her arms and tossing her body into the air. It was a constant cycle for her — double backs, whip back layouts, arabian double fronts and more handsprings than she cared to count. Her feet were matches striking flint, her hands springs as they slammed into the ground.

Even after nearly two weeks of training, this was still her worst exercise. The more her mind focused on the task at hand, the more her body rebelled. She'd taken to waking up before dawn to run, only breaking for lunch when Finnick and Peeta showed up in the gym, bags of food in hand. It took a while for her to realize they were coming in to watch her progress. A small, rational voice in her head kept telling her that they didn't know or care about how well she was doing compared to her teammates, that they were genuinely interested in learning more about what she did with her time, but it was silenced by a much louder voice, the same voice that was stopping her from joining her teammates on the other side of the gym. It was bad enough having Haymitch watch her.

Of course, that didn't stop him from checking up on her anyway. She started watching him, too, learning his schedule so he couldn't sneak up on her during a routine. A quick glance across the mats as she chalked her hands, a peek at the windows in his office upstairs as she rolled out her ankles and attached her wrist guards to her hands. Katniss wondered whether he was doing it purposely, whether he knew she preferred solitude and was trying to rob her of the small, illusory comfort zone she'd created here.

But apparently he had bigger things on his agenda today, because she found him in front of the lobby doors, arms crossed and eyes shining with importance. His feet were bare today, and his track suit was as clean as ever. He caught her eye and beckoned her over with two fingers before addressing the room.

"After a very careful, thorough review of your skills and improvement in training," he began, running his eyes over every gymnast in the room, watching them gather close in anticipation, "I've determined who'll be competing at invitationals. Girls, please congratulate Madge, Nina, Johanna and…Kirsten."

"What?"

Katniss felt her wrist grips slip out of her hands and fall against her toes. Her blue shorts and her dirty shirt, tied up above her waist with a spare piece of pre-wrap, suddenly felt out of place in the midst of so many clean, form-fitting spandex uniforms. She hadn't meant to cry out and draw attention to herself. Now the other gymnasts were stopping their celebrations to stare at her in disbelief.

"Did you have something to say, sweetheart?"

Katniss knew it was a warning for her to be quiet, but she couldn't stop the words falling out of her mouth. The entire team was staring at her, watching her unravel. "Yeah. You made me a deal. You said I'd compete in the invitational if I stayed and trained."

"You aren't ready to compete," Haymitch replied evenly. "These girls have been here longer, spent more time training their routines than you have —"

"Why the hell should they just get to go?" She demanded. "I'm the first one in here in the morning and I'm definitely last one to leave! What do they have that I don't?"

"Mental stability?" Johanna sneered.

"Take it easy, Johanna. Katniss may be on to something…how would you girls feel about an in-house competition to see who goes to the meet?"

"Are you kidding me, Haymitch? You're going to listen to her? She just wants another chance to screw us over before she leaves again! Do you know how hard we've been working for this?"

Johanna turned to her teammates, expecting loud cries of agreement and disgust to fill the air between her and their coach. She drummed her fingers against her arms, waiting for someone to speak.

"I want to do it."

Katniss had to turn to get a good look at the slender girl who had come to her defense. Rue. She looked like she was at least half a foot shorter than Katniss was, and she wore her short hair free of any harsh clips or hairbands. Her dark skin glowed in the company of the red of her leotard, especially when compared to the other girls, whose pale skin tones were even more washed out against the fabric.

Rue peered at her across the circle as she spoke up again. "I think we should compete for our spots." She offered Katniss a small smile as she said it, and this time, Katniss couldn't help but grin in reply. It seemed like she wasn't the only one who enjoyed seeing Johanna lose.

"Does anyone else agree?" Johanna let out a groan as several girls, including Madge, enthusiastically nodded. Some even thought it would be good practice before the actual competition. "It's settled, then, on one condition…Miss Everdeen needs a leotard."

Katniss caught the twinkle in Haymitch's eye as she bolted out of the gym to retrieve the leotard she'd buried somewhere in her luggage. Outside, the pavement burnt her feet and her shirt stuck to her back, but she couldn't bring herself to slow down. Her heart felt wild and irregular, and her hands were tingling.

Putting on the actual garment took her a little longer than she expected. She took a moment to calm herself down and look in the mirror, frowning at the bright pink flame that rode up the left side of her hip and around to her ribcage. The long sleeves were too hot, she knew, but somehow she still felt vulnerable. The tight leotard offered her no place to hide.

She started looking at the small details of herself instead — the hard lines of her shoulders, the slope of her neck where it met the shiny black fabric, even the curve where the leotard slid down to kiss her back, just above the freckle on her spine. Her skin was growing darker from her morning runs, and the scars on her hands and shoulders were starting to stand out in pale relief. She traced them and turned her neck, eyes following the thin white lines to the place where they disappeared into her hairline.

Leaning in close granted her a new landscape to examine. She was wasting time, she knew it, but she couldn't stop herself from clasping the sink and moving forward. This way, she couldn't see the stupid pink flame on her leotard or the faded scars on her collarbone. Is this how she looked in the mirror at home? Her sweaty hands left the cool porcelain, and then she was pushing the sleeves of her leotard up, running down the stairs.

Katniss had to stifle a laugh when she returned to the gym — Haymitch had brought in Effie as a second line judge. She had apparently refused to remove her shoes, so Haymitch made her stand toward the edge of the wall and take notes. Her bright yellow attire clashed with the walls, and it looked like she was having trouble holding the pen with her long nails. Katniss bit her cheek to keep from smiling and watched as the ceremonies began. It was the first time she had actually seen her teammates perform, and if she was being honest with herself, they were pretty intimidating. Johanna threw her hardest tricks on every exercise, messing up on all but one of her routines, but everyone else seemed to actually enjoy the event. Katniss marveled at Rue in particular, whose short frame reminded her of a bird. She fluttered up onto the bars and weaved between them in graceful flips, landing on the ground with a graceful little twist.

Johanna stepped up to the bar next and spent a ridiculous amount of time making sure the low bar had enough chalk on it. Her routine felt choppier, less focused on revolutions and gliding movements than her teammates before her. She jumped back and forth between the bars as if she couldn't decide which one felt more comfortable, finally dismounting with a layout after she ran out of skills.

Katniss was surprised as she watched the remainder of her team perform. Their lines were clean, bodies contorting and bending and hinging right on cue, but there was no spark. She didn't see anything memorable, anything that made her feel anything. The routines were safe, robotic even. Unlike Rue, who had returned to her spot on the sidelines with a bashful sort of hope written all over her face, or Johanna, who slinked off the mat with self-righteous conceit, the other girls walked away from the bars with no emotion on their faces. Every other apparatus was the same — Rue, the little bird who flitted across the gym, Madge and her long legs that wrote cursive on the floor, Johanna with her startling confidence.

Katniss had no idea what kind of impression she made in comparison, but she knew she didn't look as measured and practiced as the other girls, especially on the floor. Where their limbs swirled and wove, hers seemed to knot and stumble. No other girl looked like she was wrestling with a voice in their head, a familiar whisper telling her to stop trying before she embarrassed herself. She fought to keep her focus.

After an hour or so, it was over. Haymitch made them line up in the center of the floor as Effie totaled points and discussed the winning performances with him in a sharp whisper. She handed him the clipboard with a sly grin and went back to her desk, and suddenly Katniss could feel the silence in the room pressing into her ears.

"Interesting day today," he mused, strolling around them with exaggerated patience. "Lots of effort, lots of drive. We've made a few changes to our invitational roster."

Johanna threw him a deathly glare and switched her weight to her left leg, thrusting her hip out impatiently. "Go on and spit it out. Catpiss is obviously going."

To her horror, and Katniss' immense pleasure, Haymitch let out a sharp laugh. "Katniss _is_ going. So are Rue, Madge and Nina. Johanna, you'll be team alternate."

Katniss walked away to avoid the fallout. Johanna was near tears, complaining about professional scouts and the sun in her eyes, and the other girls were celebrating as quietly as they could to keep her from rounding on them. She felt a surprised sort of gratification wash over her skin — Haymitch had kept his deal after all. She hadn't been expecting it, especially since he didn't stand to gain from having her on the team. Agreement or no, he had no real reason to hold up to his end of the bargain. She caught his eye as she reattached her grips and she knew he was reading her thoughts perfectly. He nodded almost imperceptibly before turning his gaze away, his message clear — _don't screw this up._

His confidence in her was unwavering, but there was no breaking her mood. She felt embers of coal burning in her stomach; the only thing standing between her and the restitution money she needed to go home was herself. The weight of that revelation fell comfortably on her shoulders as she pulled herself up on the beam and began to stretch out her arms.

She could see the rest of the girls had gone back to work, too, and their excitement was easy to spot. Madge and Rue were taking turns on the floor, giving each other high-fives as they stuck difficult landings and finished routines with clean dismounts and straight arms. They had clearly been friends for a long time, there was no mistaking the way they anticipated each other's thoughts and reacted accordingly. It was impossible for Katniss to see their happiness and not be affected by it — a small smile grew on her face as she watched them practice. She didn't see Nina slip until she heard the crash behind her.

Katniss turned as several other girls flocked to Nina, who was on the floor and clutching her shin. She jumped down and ducked under the beam to get a better look at the girl — her mouth was contorted in a sharp grimace, her forehead red and her eyebrows knotted together in pain. Nothing looked broken, and there was no blood on the balance beam, but she was obviously hurt. Haymitch rushed over, his track pants swishing loudly as he knelt down and examined her leg. He pushed at the knees of the girls around him, making room for Nina to try and sit up.

She heard him muttering short, focused questions to her, rolling her ankle delicately as he assessed her injury. If the sharp hiss of breath from Nina's mouth was any indication, she was done with practice for the day. Someone from the therapy jogged up to them with a pair of crutches in hand, and together with Haymitch they hoisted her from the ground and helped her across the floor and out into the lobby. Small, angry tears fell from Nina's cheeks onto the ground, and Katniss stared at them as she left the gym.

"Johanna?"

"Yes, Haymitch? Did you need me?" She didn't even have the decency to sound hopeful, as if there was a chance she wouldn't be competing even with Nina gone. Katniss wrinkled her nose and mounted the beam again, trying not to let what had just happened affect her. She'd made it this far without injury somehow, and she was planning to keep it that way. As reluctant as she was to admit it, she felt comfortable on her equipment now. Knowing she was the only one touching her bars and beam made it easier to believe she would never fall the way Nina did. Every step she took on the floor, every skill she completed on the bar, every run down the vault track was now permanently etched into her muscles, her blood and sweat ingrained like a memory onto the fabric and wood beneath her.

Katniss had days to go before she would face people who burned at the sight of her, people who she never wanted to see again. Good, she thought to herself, pulling her chin up and pointing her toes against the leathered beam. She wasn't looking forward to the audience, but she certainly loved a challenge when she saw one.


End file.
